CES 2012

“People have been conditioned to accept poor quality sound, and we are here to change that,” claims Dean Kurnell, President of ClarityOne Audio. (Actually, we at HT Mag are here to change that, but we appreciate the help...) The company’s PureSound processor is designed to eliminate the distortion in analog speakers caused by magnetic field build-up that “occurs in traditional crossovers where only a single wire coil is used.” The patented technology is supposed to provide the most direct route possible for the signal while minimizing distortion between input and output.

The company’s first products to feature the PureSound processor are a series of earbuds and over-the-ear headphones. The PureSound technology allows ClarityOne to use 8 ohm voice coils in their models. Most other manufacturers, according to ClarityOne, use voice coils with a much higher resistance - including some that are more than 32 ohms - in order to mask distortion. In addition to providing better sound, having a lower-resistance voice coil means the player driving the earbuds/headphones doesn’t have to work as hard so the batteries’ charge lasts longer.

Prices are expected to start at $109 MSRP.

Interesting shapes were seen in the exhibit of this Danish loudspeaker maker.

Once a bustling center of earth-changing activity, the CES2012 Press Room at the Las Vegas Convention Center looked dull and dismal (well, more so than it did earlier during CES) fifteen minutes before closing time on Friday. Gone is the jovial camaraderie, the fighting for seats, the wrestling matches for the last (free) press lunch, and the incessant questioning. (It’s usually one of two: “Are there any lunches left?” or “What’s the login and password for the Press Room WiFi?”) I was one of the last few stragglers to inhabit the large conference room that’s housed the CES press for as long as I can remember - which, considering the state of my mind at the end of CES, is not too long - Friday, showing just how dedicated I am (and what a loser I am, too). The most important journalist question I asked during the CES grind? “Where are the f’ing free cookies and brownies that they used to give us?”

(On a brighter note, that’s the Griffin HELO TC iOS-device-controlled helicopter I convinced the Griffin booth guy to allow me to leave with.)

DISH Network is attempting to "hop" all over its competition at CES with a new whole house DVR that records prime time, all the time.

As part of a full company makeover that includes a new kangaroo mascot, the satellite TV provider is introducing Hopper, said to be the world's most advanced DVR. It's a 3-tuner model with a massive 2-terabyte hard drive that can record up to six HD programs simultaneously, and allows simultaneous viewing of different channels in up to three additional rooms through the companion Joey set top box.

Dish Network will bring Blockbuster@Home and an expanded version of HBO On Demand and Cinemax on Demand to customers who haven’t been able to stream movies and TV shows because they have slow internet. “Dish Unplugged” will stream content directly to the “Hopper” DVR via satellite.

Welcome to the wonderful world of high-end audio. After two eventful days scoping out the latest in video at the Las Vegas Convention Center venue I retired to the relatively relaxing confines of the Venetian Hotel, where I could listen to some tunes played back on deliciously succulent 2-channel gear. Yes, mainly 2-channel. There were a few interesting surround setups, such as in the Atlantic Technology booth where they were showing off the new H-PAS bookshelf speaker, and even a few rare full home theater setups, such as in the Wolf Cinema room. But the Venetian was mostly a 2-channel world.

But an interesting one. I wanted to scope out loudspeakers in particular, some of which have also been covered here by Home Theater's audio tech editor, Mark Fleischmann, and others. But what follows here is what caught my eye…er, my ears.

In the photo above is the new Magico Q7, the largest offering from that loudspeaker specialist. Each speaker is 750 lbs, 60-inches high, and 32-inches deep. A pair of them will set you back $165,000. That’s three zeros, and is not a typo. But they sounded astonishing, as well they should. Don't look for a review of five of them in Home Theater any time soon. In fact, Magico, like many high-end speaker makers, does not offer a center channel speaker.

If you were exhibiting at CES and you didn’t have any earphones or headphones to demonstrate, then you must not have gotten the memo that said everyone must make earbuds. Amidst the bewildering variety of mostly mediocre offerings, Sonomax was showing off their latest eers - custom molded earphones. Unlike most other custom molded earphones which have to be professionally fitted, eers come in a do-it-yourself kit that includes a special goo that flows into your ear and hardens to create a custom-fit for your specific ear. According to Sonomax, "Since ears are more unique than fingerprints, perfect fit and comfort can only be achieved with custom-fit earphones.” The PCS-150 uses a single driver. The PCS-250 uses dual drivers and a crossover. Both models include in-line microphones for use with mobile phones. Pricing will be approximately $199 and $299 respectively.